UK.gov issues death warrant for ID cards
ID cards will be history within 100 days, the government said today as it published laws to destroy the scheme. The Home Office, for years tasked with promotion of the project under Labour, said it aims to pass the Identity Documents Bill before the Parliamentary recess starts in August. It is the first legislation introduced …
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Ceci n'est pas un titre
Keeping it only for foreigners is still a pretty major defeat for civil liberties.
The UK just lowered itself to the level of Japan, congratulations ConDem!
Not just Japan
but the US, the UK since c.1920 (albeit previously in the form of a passport endorsement) and oh, just about every country in the world. In fact, if you know of a country[1] that *doesn't* require foreign residents to hold some form of documentation of such status, please let me know. If it's warm and reasonably peaceful I might consider moving there.
[1] By which I mean one with a functioning government. Somalia doesn't count
Try here.
The Netherlands. We can't do warm any more than Blighty can, but on the plus side it is considerably more peaceful (and if you're not feeling peaceful we have friendly little shops that can help with that).
They don't foist ID on citizens of any other EU countries as the ID you already have* is deemed adequate. Those from elsewhere in the EU may register as foreign residents, but it's optional and I've yet to find anything that requires this (and I do have a car, a house and other such trappings here).
I did once have an interesting conversation with the woman in the local Post Office who insisted I needed Dutch ID to register my change of address on the car. Pointing out that it was already registered to me and that the registration concerned had a stamp from that self same Post Office and her colleague's signature on it solved that one. Left her feeling a bit sheepish about the poor sod trying to do exactly the same thing she'd turned away the previous day though......
*Yes there is something of a loophole for Brits here and it looks like this may now get to quietly continue for the foreseeable future.
the UK since c.1920
...so I'm confused. Why is this extra piece of paper required for foreigners?
In my understanding, the big difference is that foreigners will have to carry the piece of paper with them at all times or else, and need it to open bank accounts, etc. Does that really happen in every country, especially Europe?
titles: just say no
Result. Worth the next five years of tory idiocy just for this.
self-funding?
" though Labour claimed this would be self-funding by charges to the public."
It's ok because we are not going to take the money from your right pocket... we are taking it from your left pocket...
Paying for something that only a few use with user fees instead of tax is fine. People who don't use it don't have to pay for it. But as soon as most/all have to pay it's just another tax.
DO NOT WANT NOW WANT
I was dead against the idea, still am.
But now they're being scrapped, I want one, to hang on my wall.
"I want one, to hang on my wall."
I want Wacky Jaqui to hang on my lamppost, but we can't have everything now, can we?
You can....
...but presumably you'd like to have plausible deniability to go with that.
Your money is ours....
"....though Labour claimed this would be self-funding by charges to the public..."
And in that one comment it shows that they still think that money in the Government coffers *** is 'their' money, but money that comes from the taxpayers is somehow 'free'. How is it that they still do not realise that the money in the Government coffers is not theirs but comes from the taxpayer and belongs to the taxpayer.
Hellloooo Labour. Now I have your attention, let me learn you with a cluebat. Not taxing your the pound in your pocket but forcing you to spend it anyway IS THE SAME AS TAXING IT. Got it ?
Sheesh. No wonder they got voted out.
***not that there is any left anyway.
jam today
Whilst getting rid of these obnoxious pieces of plastic and it's backend database is a good thing I have the feeling that they're just softening us up for the bigger shite to come as a result of cutbacks.
Collecters items?
Why would anyone want to collect or trade I.D. Cards? An ID card with someone elses image/details on is a pretty pointless collectors item. (unless if it was a famous person?)
Suckers!
To all the suckers who bought a Nu-Labour ID card and will not get a refund ... HA HA HA HA HA HA
Haven't you got it yet.
The current Government won't need ID Cards for UK Nationals as the barcode on each person will suffice
Whack-O, chaps
Bloody good show. I was just psyching myself up to be a martyr for refusing to have one.
sell tickets to witness the distruction
I'd gladly pay £30 or more to see the total destruction of that failed contrived NuLab Communist project. Perhaps at Wembley with the funds going to sort out the pitch.
AC as i'm sure they'll try to track me down when back in power.
Have we all forgotten...
... it was a Tory home secretary, Michael Howard, who first floated the National Identity Register, long before 9/11?
That the Tories have now turned dead against it says a lot about what a few terms in opposition will do for a party. To think that only five years ago, that same Michael Howard was actually the party leader.
This is an idea that's entrenched in the Home Office civil service. As such, it will keep coming back. My prediction: if the Tories win more than two consecutive terms in office, no matter what else has or hasn't happened in the meantime, they'll reintroduce the idea themselves at that stage.
Justice would be.....
....somehow wiping not just the ID card details but the *actual* identities of the 15,000 early adopters (AKA eejits)
Ooops, computer says "no"
Sorry?
And you are?
Sad really
Having a German ID card in my wallet lets me travel all over Europe rather than having a passport with me at all times. I cannot see why everyone is against this as most EU countries have ID cards and I can only see it as a benefit especially when you have to travel and commute between EU countries on a weekly basis. Paying 30 Euros for an ID card that is valid for years to come is a small price to pay for freedom.
@ FriskyMoose
Your obviously new around here, so let me explain the objection.
The objection was never the card, as seen in Europe it is quite useful. The objection was that in order to get the card you had to provide fingerprints, photos, and all of your identity details (Ni number, address, where you lost your virginity, etc.), and this information would be stored on a giant über-database which would be accessible by every government agency, the police, and the immigration service. This information woudl be required by law to be kept up to date, e.g. if you moved and didnt tell the database people you had moved you could face a very large fine.
That i can guarantee is not information you have on your ID card. Nor is the information from your ID card stored on a database in germany that is accessible to the polizei or other government departments.
That is what people objected to. These sorts of intrusive information databases allow the government to track and control and THAT is what people object to.
I hope that clarifies the situation. Welcome to The Reg...
Repurpose the hardware/systems
...or are they going to be junked and sold at auction?
Running Costs
The estimate running costs by Labour of 800milion over 10 years and that its self financing from the public are complete pie in the sky.
Here's my reasoning:
800million over 10 years = 80 million per year.
To raise 80 million quid from £30 cards = 2.6 million cards issued per year.
Now, let's make an assumption: that it takes 3 hours of effort to process the paperwork, do the biometric scans and print the card.
Total man effort required to process 2.6 million applications: = 7.6 million man hours.
Number of man hours per person in one year is: 1800. (48 week year , allowing 4 weeks for holidays)
In practise, it will be a lot lower than this because sick rates of civil servants are much higher than private industry, (the 1800 figure assumes 0 sick days). And, the actual effective utilisation rate of civil servants is very low, typically 50%, whereas for private industry, 75% is a typical figure. The 1800 figure assumes 100% utlisation.
Therefore, number of people required to process 26 million applications in one year is:
7.6million / 1800 = 4222
4222 people required. Assume a salary of 18,000 per year gross to the employee. The actual cost to the company of paying an employee could be twice the basic salary because of the overheads of employers national insurance, pensions etc.
So cost of employing one person: £36,000
4222 people at £36,000 cost is: £151.9 million
The figures just don't add up. There is no way the £800 million can be self financing. Yet more blatent lies from the Labour (ex)government.
They'd have to more than double the price of the cards and dramatically improve civil servant productivity but cutting out all the admin, training, meetings and buracratic nonsense they get involved with on a day to day basis. Not a cat's chance in hell of achieving that.
And this whole basis has been done on new applications, not the call centres that would need to be set up and hundreds, thousands of additional staff required to keep the scheme running.
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